OwlClan's Destiny
by KestrelstarXAmberstar
Summary: A strange rogue group has appeared at the edge of OwlClan territory. They are a quite large group for rogues, too. The leader, Lion, has been visiting the camp frequently, and bit too frequently for young Amberpaw. She battles difficult decisions and heartbreaking moments as she progresses to be a warrior, and she has no idea what the future holds for her.
1. Prologue

A brown tabby she-cat bent her head to lick the head of one of her newborn kits, her fur plastered to her sides from the rain. Thunder clapped overhead right after lightning struck, and her second kit, the smaller she-cat, squealed in terror. The mother then licked the ears of that kit gently as she thought to herself, _My poor kit..._

Beside the mother was a golden dappled she-cat, her apface screwed up in disgust as rain roared down outside of a rocky outcrop. "I can't believe Lion isn't here,"

"Hush, Leopard," The mother meowed, "he will come."

Leopard snorted in exasperation. "Since when was that fleabag ever there for you?" Without waiting for an answer, she let out a low sigh and lay down with her paws under her chest. "Buzzard, I realize he's your mate and all, but don't you think he's been neglecting you? Just a little?"

Buzzard's brown fur stuck up on her neck defensively. "Don't you think you're being unfair to your brother? He's helped you through a lot, you know."

"When we were _kits,_" Leopard hissed, her growls evident. "Ever since he found out about how to fight to gain what you have, he's done nothing but that." She closed her eyes as another clap of thunder battered the area, almost deafening her. "Have you named the kits yet?"

Glad to change the subject, the queen dipped her head. "No, I'm terrible with names," She couldn't hold back a purr as she watched the bigger tom fluff out his fur in spikes, trying to stay warm from the cold rain pounding outside.

"Well, then, I'll name the tom and you can name the she-kit." Leopard suggested, her gaze fixed on the golden furred kit.

"Sounds even enough." Buzzard looked carefully at the pale brown she-cat, and watched as another thunderous roar made the kit squeal in terror while her brother did not react. "I'll name her Thunder. She might find the courage to overcome her fear someday."

"Then I'll name the tom Lightning. He could defend his sister always, like my brother never did for me." She purred softly as the tom mewled and rolled onto his back, purring himself to sleep.

Then a drenched feline entered the shadows of the rock, his muscles showing from his rain plastered fur. He stared at the kits, then at Buzzard. "You had the kits already?" For a second, his amber eyes flashed with surprise and anger.

"Yes, I did, Lion." Hearing a growl, Buzzard knew it was from Leopard and she waved her tail across the hot-headed she-cat's mouth. "And their names are Lightning and Thunder." She nosed them in turn, a purr overcoming her.

"And I suppose this mange-pelt helped you deliver my kits?" Lion growled, baring his fangs at Leopard.

"She was only trying to—" Buzzard broke off as Leopard leaped at Lion with a snarl, her jaws clamping around his neck. Lion shook the smaller she-cat off with ease, and he pinned her to the earthy floor of the outcrop.

"Attacking _me,_ are we?" Lion growled lowly, putting his muzzle close to his sister's. "You'll never win."

Leopard still did not speak. Instead, she gathered her back legs under Lion's belly and shoved him off with great force. As the winded tom skidded out into the rain, the golden dappled she-cat tackled him and rolled over and over with the tom in the mud. She slashed at his flanks, belly, and neck, while he returned each blow with greater force. He managed to grab his sister by the scruff and dragged her back to the walls of the overhanging rock, pinning her up against it.

"Lion, don't!" Buzzard cried, desperately trying to save her friend. "That's your _sister_! She's your kin, remember? You can't kill kin!" She wrapped her tail tightly around her kits, causing Lightning to awake. He mewled loudly once before settling back down. More thunder cracked, and Lion slowly looked back at his mate. His eyes traveled down to his kits, sleeping soundly at her belly. For the longest time, he just stared at them, his amber eyes revealing nothing. He kept his large paw firmly pressed on Leopard to keep her up on the wall, and, with a sigh, he let her drop.

"I'm stopping for the kits." He didn't look at Buzzard again before leaving, his bloody paws making prints on the dirt.

Leopard growled at Lion as he left, then she limped back to Buzzard's side. "He still won't stop at nothing until he finds that Clan, you know."

Buzzard sighed, laying her chin on her paws. "I know, Leopard. Trust me."


	2. Chapter 1

**Okay. Before questions are flung, I'd like to say that redcough is far worse than greencough. This illness has earned it's name because the cats cough up blood if they have the infection. It is harder to treat than greencough, and much more fatal.**

**Anyway, hi! Thanks for looking into this! I'm writing all the chapters, though two of my friends from school have characters that are in it. Mudspots and Owlstar are both fairly old, and that's because they are the first medicine cat and leader of OwlClan. :3 I hope you enjoy it!**

Rain poured over a forest of willows and birch trees, lightning flashing in the distance. Thunder wasn't too far behind each flash as it made the ground vibrate with it's sounds. Below one of the biggest and darkest clouds sat a clearing surrounded by reeds and cattails, circled by a ring of water. A cat's yowl echoed through the trees as felines emerged from the patches of gorse and elder bushes.

"Graypaw!" A cat called, racing into one of the dens, "Come with me, I'll need your help!"

A small, fluffy gray tomcat slipped in the mud and sped after the brown and white tom that called to him. Amberpaw saw through the tightly woven stems of the elder bush that Echostream lay there, panting, trying to give birth to her kits.

"We're lucky to have Mudspots and Graypaw," Amberpaw heard Fernheart murmur to Badgerclaw. "Without them to take care of us, where would we be?"

"We'd be constantly sick, without knowing what to do." Badgerclaw sighed, as if remembering the time when he was still a rogue, fighting for himself. Amberpaw felt a stab of sympathy for the black and white tom. He'd been so used to his lonely life that he was skittish when he first arrived in the Clan. But Fernheart quickly became his friend, and she's been kind and patient with him ever since.

"If it weren't for Mudspots, Owlstar would've been dead a long time ago," She heard someone murmur this behind her: whirling around, her fur bristling, she wasn't surprised to see it being Cedarpaw and Poppypaw. The two were always so snooty and self-righteous that it didn't surprise Amberpaw that they would say something like that. Even though it was true, it wasn't something you should say about your leader so openly.

"Owlstar had _redcough_, Poppypaw," Cedarpaw murmured back to her, "So its not surprising that he even lost one life to it. All cats die from it."

Amberpaw growled, her tortoiseshell fur bristling. "Mudspots will find a cure, you'll see!" She gave an annoyed hiss before sitting back down, her back turned to the two obnoxious apprentices. She had faith in the old tomcat, after all, he was the one to find the catnip growing wildly in each territory. Maybe he could find that one herb to heal the mysteries of red cough...

Suddenly a loud mew from a kit in the nursery announced it's birth. Amberpaw felt warm from ears to tail-tip as new life entered the Clan, and she silently prayed to StarClan. _Thank you for this new little by bundle of fur. They'll make a fine edition to the Clan._ Then another mew was added to the first, making a chorus of little kittens searching for milk. Amberpaw couldn't help but purr from the thought of having her own kits, with a mate and a Clan to protect her and her kits.

"It's a little worrying," She heard Adderfang murmur, "Echostream's kits are being born in quite a big storm." As if to emphasize his words, lightning struck the sky and thunder followed with a low growl.

"I know!" That was Sunclaw. "Could this mean bad luck for us? After all, StormClan and DuskClan have been pretty hostile to us lately."

Adderfang sighed, his tail brushing the wet grass. "DuskClan never liked us much anyway, but StormClan..." His voice trailed off as another kit was born, and thunder announced it.

Amberpaw stood up, her white forepaws becoming dirty with mud. But, not caring, she trotted closer to the nursery, her tail kinked over her back. Over Iceclaw's wide shoulders, she could just barely see three black and white tabby kittens as they suckled. Surprisingly, Echostream still had a stick clamped in her jaws. It was already splintered from the past three kits, and the young tortoiseshell wondered if the stick would break if another kit was born.

"You're doing fine, Echostream," She could hear Mudspots's voice as he meowed to Echostream, trying to keep her from wailing. But his kind words fell on deaf ears as the stick split in half in the queen's mouth, the fourth and last kit laying beside its siblings.

Amberpaw turned to the Clan, swarmed by the den. "She's done kitting!" Almost instantly following, Nightfall hurried into the nursery and began to groom his mate's fur. They were locked together in a bundle of purring happiness while the kits tried to get milk from their mother, and Mudspots turned to his own apprentice. "Well done, Graypaw. You did everything you had too, and more. You've kept Echostream calm and you did well for your first delivery of kits." The small gray tom pricked with happiness.

"Really? Oh, thank you Mudspots!"

Amberpaw opened her jaws in a large yawn. She was woken up by the commotion of Echostream's kitting, and even though she was glad to have seen it, she was drooping with exhaustion. She turned away from the crowded, purring Clan, and stumbled back into her nest across the camp. As she settled in, she only had a few moments of peaceful sleep before being swept into a whirlwind of yowls and cries of fear. Her eyes snapped open to see that she was no longer in her nest, but dreaming! She was at the Plateau of Sharing, whee Gatherings were held every moon. It was a high stone with gently sloping sides, grass and flowers decorating the top. Another stone was on top of the Plateau, and it was where the leaders sat. Now, in their place, was a big golden tabby tom. His fur was groomed well and his muscles taut, and he looked like a Clan cat. But when Amberpaw tasted the air, there was no cat scent, only rogue scents and stone.

Beneath the willow on the Plateau lay a queen, suckling two kits. Beneath the pine tree was a group of younger looking cats, apprentice age maybe. Lastly, under the oak lay a group of all the older members, their tails flicking lazily in the night.

"A little frightening, isn't it?" Amberpaw whirled around to see an achingly familiar pelt. It was Acorneye, the elder OwlClan lost two seasons ago from redcough. She glanced at his missing eye, then swallowed and nodded.

"I-it is," she stammered, "And I don't know what to do. All I see is rogues... And none of them are familiar! There are so many..." She whimpered, crouching down on the hill that led from OwlClan to the Plateau. She felt Acorneye's brown tail rest on her shoulders.

"You may see a lot, but deep down, there aren't many." Before Amberpaw could ask what he meant, he swept on. "Only three have the power to salvage a whole Clan. Death will bring new buds and new beginnings, dear one, so look for the signs."

She felt him begin to disappear. "No!" She stood and yowled at empty air, her claws scraping up the grass in desperation. "Tell me what you mean!"

"Amberpaw!"

"Acorneye?" She called hopefully, praying that it was him who was calling to her. But when she heard her name again, she felt a paw jab her ribs and she jolted awake.

"Amberpaw!" It was Cedarpaw, hissing in frustration. "Get up! We're supposed to be training together."

Clumsily, the tortoiseshell she-cat stood up and stretched out. She shook her pelt free of moss bits, her jaws gaping in a yawn. "Alright, let's get a move on, then." She muttered, her white paws brushing the grass.

Outside the reed-walled den, Ravenpelt and Featherdream were waiting for them by the camp entrance. "Its about time you woke up!" Ravenpelt called, lashing his white tipped tail. "What are you, a dormouse?"

"Hush, Ravenpelt," Featherdream murmured, her pretty tabby fur rippling in the gentle greenleaf breeze. "Last night may have drained her energy."

The tom snorted. "She wasn't the one kitting."

Amberpaw sighed. "Can we just go training?" She shook out her downy tortoiseshell pelt, a huff escaping her. She didn't let the warriors go through first; she stomped through the woven tunnel of cattail stems and leaped into the ring of water that surrounded camp. She relished the refreshing feel of the water as it closed over her back, making her soft fur stick to her body as she climbed out on the other side. She sat on the grass, licking her fur dry as the willows around her whistled in the wind. She heard three other splashes as Featherdream, Ravenpelt and Cedarpaw swam over to her, shaking out their own fur. Ravenpelt barged past her.

_"I'll_ be leading the way to Sunningrocks!" He snorted with importance as he set a steady trot toward the river that bordered the flat, warm stones.

"Why do you keep ruffling his fur?" Cedarpaw whispered to Amberpaw, his brown neck fur bristling. "He's not exactly trying to pull your tail off."

Amberpaw growled at the other apprentice. "Yeah? Then why not tell your mentor how you said Owlstar was weak?"

Cedarpaw's muscles tensed. "You wouldn't dare," He hissed, fear reflecting his clear blue gaze. "If you did, I would..."

"Would what?" Amberpaw snorted. _"Shred_ me?"

He growled. "Don't believe me?"

"Of course not," she let out an amused _mrrow_. "You're just too much of a mouse to do it."

Suddenly, Cedarpaw's brown pelt flashed in front of her vision. He head butted her in the chest, causing her to be winded and staggering back. He took his chance and tackled her down, pinning her to the grassy ground. Amberpaw struggled in his grip, but he used his forepaws to hold her by her chest. He flinched once when she churned his belly with sheathed paws, but he raised one paw. His claws unsheathed, glinting in the sunshine, but he heaved a heavy sigh after a moment's pause. "I can't do it."

"Told you you couldn't," Amberpaw hissed through gritted teeth, shoving him off. "And you didn't believe me."

Once the small group arrived at Sunningrocks, Featherdream glanced at Amberpaw. "Anything you can smell?"

Taking a deep inhale of air through her mouth, the tortoiseshell apprentice nodded. "I smell DuskClan and the river."

"Very good." The silver tabby she-cat's gaze traveled up the rocks and sideways to the river, her tail twitching. "Right now, Sunningrocks are DuskClan's. They've had them since your apprentice ceremony," She let out a growl, her tail lashing.

"I hope Owlstar leads an attack soon." Ravenpelt stared across the river as shadows flitted between the pines. "Those mangy lizard eaters don't deserve those rocks!"

Cedarpaw was still silent, though he stole a look at Amberpaw. When she looked back, he snatched his gaze away, and muttered, "I bet I could win back Sunningrocks," His paws kicked pebbles as he glared into the pine forest beyond.

Rolling her eyes, Amberpaw looked at Featherdream. "Can we start training now?"

It had been a quarter moon since Amberpaw trained with Cedarpaw. He had been more patient with her lately, and she never understood why. But, as she bit down into her carp, she chewed slowly as she thought. Were they closer than she thought? Was there something between them? _No,_ she told herself firmly, _I don't love Cedarpaw. He's too annoying._

"Hey, Amberpaw!" Looking up, the tortoiseshell realized the voice belonged to her best friend, Honeypaw. Her friend's golden fur was fluffed up eagerly as she settled beside her, her tail twitching endlessly.

"Before you hop away like a frog," Amberpaw growled slightly, her green gaze fixed on Honeypaw, "Tell me why you're so giddy."

Honeypaw burst out the words as if she'd explode from holding it in. "We're going to the Gathering!"

Amberpaw had completely forgotten about it. All she was focused on was her life at that very moment, not on things to occur in the future. "Is Cedarpaw going?" She inquired, her ears twitching at the thought of walking with the strong, sturdy tom to the Plateau of Sharing, their fur brushing...

"I think so," Honeypaw meowed, her amber eyes scanning the clearing. Reeds rattled as Owlstar padded from his den, head bent to whisper something in Hawkheart's ear. Then the white tom lifted his black tabby striped head, yowling clearly, "All cats who are old enough to swim, gather to hear my words!"

Instantaneously, Amberpaw shot up and dashed to the gathering crowd. Her pelt itched with tension as she waited for the old tom to call the names of the cats attending.

As soon as every cat had crowded around, muttering in excitement, Owlstar began. "Those of us who are attending the Gathering are Scorchstream, Bramblecloud, Dustfur, Skyheart, Tinywing, Blackfeather, Nightfall, Honeypaw, Cedarpaw, and Amberpaw."

Amberpaw felt a rush of happiness that her best friend was going, and that Cedarpaw was going too. She felt a tail brush her flank, and she looked to see her father, Hawkheart, staring at her with pride. "You're going to the Gathering."

Scorchstream, her mother, approached Hawkheart and brushed his muzzle with her own. "Of course she is. She's been hunting nonstop for the past moon."

_I wanted to attend the Gathering. _She thought defensively. But, she had to admit, the past couple days she's been trying to impress Cedarpaw with her hunting skills and battle skills. Her heart soared with joy when she saw him walking over to the small family, his eyes unblinking. _And I don't want to stop staring at his eyes..._

"Congratulations," He meowed, flicking her ear with his brown tail. "I knew you could do it."

She fought so hard to not purr aloud. /I don't like him!/ But when he stood beside her, she rooted herself to the ground as to prevent her tortoiseshell fur from brushing his brown fur. Now she knew... _I'm in love with Cedarpaw!_

**Reviews are greatly appreciated! But please, don't start any arguments. ;-; I hate it when people argue over stupid stuff.**

**But yeah.**

**What's gonna happen next? :B Will Amberpaw be brave enough to admit her feelings any time soon ? Or will the rogue group find them on their way to the Plateau of Sharing and challenge them?**

**SIDE NOTE: I know Sunningrocks was in the first two series of Warriors! I just felt it'd be interesting to have it in this story. It'll be a fatal place for this Clan C; Anyway, until next time~!**


End file.
